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Orbital Bombardment
You might be looking for Global Destructive Bombardment, the complete destruction of a planet's habitability. "Lightning is just the Lord's version of orbital bombardment." '-Colonel Gary Wilkon, United States of America, 2098' Orbital Bombardment, was a human military tactic involving the use of high impact (kinetic or otherwise) projectiles lobbed from a position in orbit around a planetoid destined for ground contact in order to strike and eliminate targets hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Munitions used varied from nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles to solid kinetic projectiles fired at relatavistic speeds, both of which could yield explosion sizes ranging in the kilotons to megatons of TNT. The use of orbital bombardment was a necessary if controversial tactic used by most human militaries on Earth preceding the Deinosect War, during which time advancements in the technology came in strides, rather than steps. The use of orbital bombardments increased tenfold after he Deinosect War by various human countries as ships carrying ballistic missiles, kinetic MAC guns, and even high-caliber explosive rounds found the hse of such shock and awe tactics useful beyond imagination. The fear factor alone was immense, as orbital bombardments, taking as much time and effort as they did, practically assured defending ground forces that their space forces had lost control of the skies. Orbital bombardment was not, however, a perfect strategy. It was often inaccurate and catastrophically damaging to both the environment and oftentimes friendly forces. The typical call sign for orbital bombardment, Danger Overhead, practically assured the destruction of the unit calling in said strike. The size and breadth of damage was unopposed in scope, and calling in a strike close to oneself meant that any units in the area were in immediate danger of being overrun and that the utter destruction of the attacking force was not a want but a need. Self-sacrifice by these units was often recorded in extreme reverance by military historians, as few soldiers would risk calling a ship possibly in the middle of battle overhead to strike their own position without the highest regard for the welfare of the campaign over their own lives. Aside from use on active battles, orbital bombardments were used for sieges, though more often than not the presence of strike-capable craft outside of a planet's atmosphere was enough to force capitulation. Threat of orbital bombardment was all too often the easiest means of forcing a planet's population into accepting outside rule. It should be noted that the logistics of an orbital bombardment were intense and difficult to achieve. Precise battlefield measurements. Requiring one or more ships to be pulled away from regular duties, train their weapons towards a planet, and factor in various ever-changing measurements not present in space (friction, angle, wind speed, weather, terrain obstacles, etc.) which might or might not be readily available. This could also take a considerable amount of time, and any ships in an active combat zone attempting to strike ground targets were much more likely to be the first target of any navy or strike craft. The strike would also take time for projectiles to reach their targets and therefore reduce reaction time by minutes, and the amount of munitions used was almost always capable of quickly depleting the reserves held by all but the largest of naval ships. As such, orbital bombardment was used almost solely when the military requiring it could assure domination of space and prevent strikes on the vulnerable ships attacking positions on the planet. Category:Military Tactic Category:Spacecraft